Wire for brassieres



Jan. 24, 1956 A. GARSON' 2,731,640

WIRE FOR BRASSIERES Filed Feb. 9, 1954 lNVENTOR United fates Patent 9 WIRE FOR BRASSIERES Arthur Garson, New York, N. Y. Application February 9, 1954, Seriai No. 409,116

1 Claim. (Cl. 2-42) This invention relates to reinforcing members or wires for brassieres and other similar garments, and has particular reference to means by which the reinforcing member or wire may be cushioned or encased to thereby protect the wearer from contact with such parts of the wire as would be likely to cause possible irritation or discomfort.

In certain types of brassieres, it is known practice to incorporate along the edges of the breast cup, a stiffening element in the form of a continuous, double-loop wire, the loops thereof being integrally connected at a central point in an apex or secondary loop. This apex, which is located between the breasts, must of necessity be protected lest it cause irritation and discomfort to the wearer. Various expedients for this purpose have been attempted, chief of which is the encasement of the apex portion of the wire in a sleeve of soft fabric, or by providing padding located around this part of the wire and possibly around other portions of the same. It has been found that this form of protective sleeve around the parts of the wire has not been altogether satisfactory for various reasons, one of which is that the encasing or covering material is not sufficiently soft to provide the desired cushioning effect. Moreover, friction of the body against the protective material soon causes wear; the fabric soon tears and exposes the wire and permits it to directly contact with the body and cause irritation and discomfort.

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a protective cushioning for all or parts of a reinforcing wire for brassieres, and which cushioning will be soft, compressible and smooth surfaced; which will last for the life of the brassiere and which cannot be dislodged from its initial position of placement on the wire.

More particularly, the invention contemplates the provision on a wire reinforcement of the type mentioned, of a rounded, smooth-surfaced sleeve-like body of soft, compressible latex rubber intimately applied on the wire at the desired location thereon and bonded to the wire and by its intimate attachment to the wire is prevented from longitudinal shift or sliding mo ement on the wire.

With the above-mentioned .ts and other objects to be hereinafter set forth in vie I have devised the arrangement of parts to be described and more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein an illustrative embodiment of the invention is disclosed,

Fig. l is a front elevational view of a brassiere-reinforcing wire, constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the cushion member;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows, and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view through the cushion member, taken at right angles to that of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to Fig. 1 thereof, 1 indicates generally a form of wire reinforcement of the type employed in brassieres and other garments. These reinforcements are usually accommodated in sleeve-like pockets provided along the top, bottom and sometimes both edges of the brassiere. Most of the wire reinforcements as employed in brassieres at the present time are of the double-loop shape shown, and thus include the two rounded loop formations 2 and 3 which, at least, partly encircle the breasts. At a central point the two loops 2 and 3 come together in an integral apex or secondary loop 4 which, when the garment is worn, is positioned between the breasts.

In many wire-reinforced brassieres it is often found that this apex or secondary loop 4 causes irritation or dis comfort, and it is therefore desirable that this portion at least, of the wire reinforcement, be effectively protected by a suitable cushioning element. For this purpose, I have found that the provision of soft, compressible, spongy latex rubber applied about the apex or minor loop as shown in the drawing at 5, provides softness, smoothness and a lasting cushion.

The rubber cushion 5 thus provided, may be applied to the wire and about the apex portion thereof, by any known methods, such as by dipping the wire into liquid latex, spraying it on the wire or molding it thereon, the optimum sought being a rounded, smooth-surface, soft, compressible sleeve intimately and adherently united to the wire and restrained against any movement, longitudimail or otherwise, on the wire. The result is that when the cushion is applied as above explained, it becomes for all intents and purposes, an almost integral portion of the wire and will last for the life of the wire or for the life of the brassiere of which it forms a part.

The end portions of the cushion, applied as above explained, may taper smoothly down to the wire as indicated at 6 so that no edges on the cushion perceptible to contact with the skin of the wearer, will be apparent.

While I have herein suggested that the soft rubber cushion material be applied at a specific location on the wire, namely, at the apex or secondary loop portion 4 thereof, it will be apparent that it might be applied at other portions of the wire, such as at the ends of the wire now shown on being covered by tips 7. If desired, the wire might also be covered with this cushioning material for its entire length. Also, while I have herein shown the cushioning material as having been applied to a reinforcing wire of a certain type and shape, it will be apparent that the cushioning material might be applied to any type of wire reinforcement wherever cushioning protection is required.

When the wire reinforcement is protected in the manner described, a smooth, soft, compressible non-shifting and sanitary protective cushioned coating is the result, assuring the wearer maximum of comfort and long-life for the reinforcement and its protective covering.

Having described a single embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that the same is not to be restricted thereto, but is broad enough to cover all structures coming within the scope of the annexed claim.

What I claim is:

A wire reinforcement for brassieres and similar garments comprising a double-loop wire frame formed with a central loop apex, a soft and compressible rubber material in the form of a non-shiftable, intimately-attached sleeve located over the central loop apex and adherently bonded thereto, the adherence of the sleeve to the portion of the wire over which it is applied being such as to hold the sleeve against longitudinal as well as rotative movement on the wire.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,837,958 Ferrero Dec. 22, 1931 2,483,366 Glick .a Sept. 27, 1949 2,579,545 Cadous Dec. 25, 1951 2,698,689 Van Leuven Sept. 2, 1952 

